NORTH REDINGTON BEACH – Two students from the Seminole campus of St. Petersburg College, Tanner Guy and Scott Valentine, attended the April 10 Town Commission meeting as part of their work toward a bachelor’s degree in public policy and administration.

Guy and Valentine made presentations to commissioners regarding a selected ordinance up for approval. The presentations were a prerequisite for preparing essays to submit to their policy and leadership class.

Guy said that the assignment was to give the students the actual experience of “interacting with government officials so we (students) have an idea of what it’s like (to do so).”

Valentine said that they chose the North Redington Beach meeting because the meeting took place on a Thursday night, which was convenient for their schedules.

The ordinance the students addressed was the only ordinance before the town during new business. The ordinance amends the code to restrict the height of detached structures constructed within the second of two residential districts in the town and passed on its first reading.

Recently, the same ordinance restricting the height of detached structures to 12 feet was passed within the first of the two residential districts of the town. The ordinance added the other residential district to the code. Both ordinances affect new construction only and existing structures are grandfathered in.

“We wanted to make it (the ordinances for both residential districts) the same,” said Mayor Bill Queen.

Valentine said he had learned about the concept of “neighborhood harmony” from a local Realtor during his presentation. Guy explored aspects of “capping the height requirement of 12 feet” as part of his presentation.

An LED lighted sign has been parked along the back streets of the town, alerting motorists when they exceed the speed limit of 25 mph. The light comes on to signal a motorist once a vehicle reaches 26 mph and flashes when a motorist’s vehicle exceeds 35 mph. According to data accumulated, motorists posted a median speed of 22 mph and only 2 percent of drivers exceeded 35 mph.